Bangs southpaw Abby Wolf has thrown so many no-hitters this year, that the subject barely raises an eyebrow. But in consecutive district wins over Coleman and Christoval last week, the sophomore managed to create a stir.
Missing a perfect game by one hit batsman in a 7-0 win over Coleman, she followed that with three perfect innings in a 15-0 route of Christoval.
In other words, Wolf tossed nine complete hitless innings last week, along the way walking none and fanning 13.
Following a basketball program on the surface can only provide one with so much insight. Behind the scenes, however, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Gym Rat Team that we wish to tip our caps to those individuals who exuded the most of it.
This team isn’t about who the best players are, though some of the area’s top players did make this list.
The Gym Rat team is about effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2022-23 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s girls and boys basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps boys basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here is our 2023 All-Big Country Preps Boys Basketball Rising Stars Team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Wylie baseball (57 images)”
For the better part of six innings, Friday night’s District 4-5A showdown between Abilene High and Wylie was a fan’s dream: intense, thrilling, competitive and headed down to the wire.
Enter Collin Bruning.
With the Bulldogs trailing 4-3 and down to their final four outs, Bruning came off the bench and had a pinch hit double that landed just inches fair to jumpstart a seven-run rally that propelled Wylie to a 10-4 win at Bulldog Field.
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s girls and boys basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here are our third-team selections for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball team. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
Here is our 2023 All-Big Country Preps girls basketball Rising Stars team, comprised of the top freshmen and sophomores in the area. For the rest of this year’s boys and girls basketball selections, click the links below.
BEST OF BCP WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: DCTF’s Matt Stepp joins the show.
Original air date: April 14, 2021
Citing a desire to get to be a parent and enjoy watching his son, Cooper boys basketball coach Bryan Conover announced on Wednesday that he’s stepping down from his post.
It was a move he said he knew he was going to make going into the season, which culminated with a playoff berth as the Cougars went 18-13 and finished as the District 4-5A runner-up.
While tough, the decision wasn’t one that Conover struggled to make.
When Chris Evans announced that he was stepping down as the head football coach and athletic director at Hamlin on Feb. 28, softball coach Jason Botos was given the job on an interim basis.
Monday afternoon, the interim title was lifted and Botos was promoted to the dual roles permanently.
It was a simple decision for Hamlin superintendent Dr. Randy Burks and the school board, led by Kendon Gruben.
“Damarrius Walker is a very talented young man,” Sweetwater coach Brian Hodnett said. “There isn’t much in track and field that he can’t do!
“We as a staff are excited to see how far he can go this year.”
So is the rest of the area as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week collects the award after scoring 44 points individually at the Hamlin Pied Piper Relays last week.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Lubbock Monterey-Cooper baseball (30 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Haskell-Hamlin softball (27 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie softball (39 images)”
Despite it being the end of spring break, the local baseball and softball teams were busy on the diamonds on Saturday, both in town and in Lubbock.
The six teams from Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie combined to go 3-3 in action.
You can read Daniel Youngblood’s story on Lubbock Monterey’s 6-2 win over Cooper in District 4-5A baseball here.
Meanwhile, Abilene High’s baseball and softball teams, along with Wylie baseball, picked up key District 4-5A wins. Wylie softball dropped a heartbreaker at Lubbock Monterey and the Cooper softball squad dropped a nondistrict game against Wolfforth Frenship.
The Cooper baseball could never solve Lubbock Monterey starter Hector Villegas on Saturday, tallying just two hits off the right-hander in a 6-2 loss to the Plainsmen at Cougar Field.
Villegas kept the Cougars off balance all game, pitching around four walks and two hit batsmen by drawing weak contact more often that not.
The Monterey starter struck out only three, but he drew nine groundouts and four pop outs in helping the Plainsmen (8-11 overall) improve to 4-1 in District 4-5A play. Cooper, which managed single runs in the first and fourth innings, fell to 10-6 on the year and 2-3 in league action.
HAMLIN — In the aftermath of Hamlin’s 10-6 win over area rival Haskell in Friday’s District 7-2A softball opener, dissecting what had just taken place was an exercise in answering a key question.
Yes, the Lady Pipers won, propelled by an eight-run second inning, a solid pitching effort from Zoe Moore and home runs by Samantha Gonzalez and Roxanne Rivera. But what if Haskell (11-8-1, 0-1) doesn’t hit into four inning-killing double plays?
The answer is that Friday’s matchup could have taken a much different turn at several key points, but Hamlin (14-4, 1-0) was the club that executed at every one of them.
“It’s frustrating, but I think they realize where we can improve and the things we need to work on in order to win a game like this,” Haskell coach Emily Dyes said. “We’ve got some good hitters, but we’ve got to get better defensively and minimize our errors every game.”
HAMLIN — In 2022, the Hamlin softball team enjoyed what was arguably its best season ever, finishing the year with a 24-7 mark and a loss to Stamford in the Region I-2A championship game.
The Lady Pipers finished one win away from the first state tournament trip in program history. Understandably, that is a focal point in 2023, and nowhere is that more evident in than in the battery combo of pitcher Zoe Moore and catcher Emily Duniven — a pair of college-bound seniors facing their final opportunity to leave their mark on a burgeoning program.
The Wylie softball team stayed perfect in District 4-5A play Thursday, using a big fourth inning to break a 3-all tie and eventually beat crosstown rival Cooper 7-4 at Bulldog Field.
After scoring one run in each of the first three innings, the Lady Bulldogs erupted for four runs in the fourth — all with two outs — to build a lead they would protect the rest of the way.
The victory improved Wylie to 18-4 overall and 2-0 in league play, while Cooper fell to 1-2 in District 4-5A action with its second loss to a crosstown rival this week.
BEST OF BCP WEDNESDAY NIGHT PODCAST: DCTF’s Matt Stepp joins the show.
Original air date: Dec. 8, 2021
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper softball (48 images)”
The Abilene High softball team got a strong pitching performance from Avah Reyes and Diana Silva and took advantage of four Cooper errors Tuesday in an 8-1 win over the Lady Cougars at Cougar Diamond.
The Lady Eagles led 1-0 after an inning, before taking control of the game with a three-run top of the third. That was all the support needed by Reyes and Silva, who combined to limit their crosstown rivals to just one run on six hits in the victory.
The win improved AHS (17-3 overall) to 1-1 in District 4-5A play, while Cooper fell to the same record in league action. AHS had opened district with a 6-4 loss to Wylie last week, while the Lady Cougars opened 4-5A play with an 8-6 win over Lubbock Cooper.
EARLY — It took nine innings and more than two hours to come to a conclusion, but Tuesday’s District 8-3A softball showdown between Early and Brock lived up to its expectations.
With the score knotted at 2-2, Early’s Teagan Lopez drove a pitch from Melanie Middleton over the fence in dead center to drive home Jordan Simmons with a game-winning two-run walk-off homer in a 4-2 victory at EHS.
With the win, Early (13-2, 3-0) takes possession of first place in the district race while Brock (8-10-1, 2-1) slips off the pace by a game.
You know you’re on a roll when you throw a no-hitter and it’s your second-best performance of the week.
That was the case for Hico junior pitcher Kiersten Fincannon, not only threw a no-hitter in a 24-0 win over Meridian, but also tossed a perfect game in a 22-0 rout of Itasca.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper baseball (125 images)”
First-year Abilene High baseball coach Brad Harman admitted that he didn’t sleep much on Friday night with the excitement of his initiation into the Crosstown Showdown looming.
He may not get much sleep on Saturday night either.
Cooper used a six-run sixth inning to take the lead and held off the Eagles 12-8 on Saturday afternoon at Cougar Field in a District 4-5A matchup that also served as the conclusion of the Abilene ISD Invitational baseball tournament.
Due to UIL regulations, photo sales from state championship events are not permitted.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Jayton-Graford boys basketball state championship (104 images)”
SAN ANTONIO — Entering the Class 1A state championship game, neither top-ranked Graford or No. 2 Jayton had been beaten by a team in their own classification.
At the end of four quarters Saturday morning at the Alamodome, that was still true.
But after the teams had traded punches on their way to a stalemate in regulation, the Jackrabbits outscored the Jaybirds 8-3 in overtime to hold off Jayton for a 49-44 win and claim their second consecutive state title.
Ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, for most of the season, the Graford and Jayton boys basketball teams surprised no one by reaching the Class 1A state championship game.
But in pulling away to double-digit semifinal wins on Thursday, the Jackrabbits and Jaybirds set up a title game matchup that should prove quite a treat for small-school basketball fans.
Graford, the defending Class 1A state champion, brings with it to Saturday’s 8:30 a.m. clash a 36-3 record that features losses only to ranked larger school squads from North Hopkins, Lipan and Holliday. Jayton, at 37-2, has lost only to larger school playoff teams from Sweetwater and Reagan County.
Combined, the two have rolled through every Class 1A opponent put in front of them, adding just a little more intrigue to a matchup Jayton coach Ryan Bleiker called “a really exciting game.”
Not only did Thursday mark the opening game of the 2023 Abilene ISD Invitational, it also featured a District 4-5A matchup with the Southside Showdown between Cooper at Wylie at Bulldog Field.
Abilene High split a pair of games with schools from Wichita Falls ISD, while the Bulldogs picked up a 10-0 win over the Cougars to close out the day in a game played mainly in a heavy mist.
SAN ANTONIO — The Jayton Jaybirds were concerned about navigating their way through a trapping defense from Tilden McMullen County in Thursday’s Class 1A state semifinal. And as it turned out, their worries were legitimate after being forced into 14 giveways.
Jayton, however, had an answer — limiting the Cowboys to only 29.2 percent shooting (14-48) to negate the extra possessions in a 46-36 win at the Alamodome.
Nathaniel Williams scored a game-high 26 points and Sean Stanaland added eight more to lead Jayton (38-2), which will face top-ranked defending state champion Graford in the title game at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
SAN ANTONIO — The Benjamin Mustangs had the environment they wanted while making their debut at the UIL Boys Basketball State Championships against Graford on Thursday — an up-tempo, guard-oriented game with the ball often changing hands near the midcourt area.
There was just one problem: The Mustangs fell victim to too many of their own unforced errors to take advantage of the situation, falling to the defending state champions in a 66-42 state semifinal loss.
Christian Shea scored 18 points, Brad Lemley added 17 and Colin Roberts had 14 to lead Graford (34-3), which advances to face Jayton (38-2) for the Class 1A state title at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Leading 41-35 heading into the final quarter, the Jackrabbits blew open what had been a competitive game with a 25-7 tally through the final eight minutes.
Benjamin closed its season at 21-2, led by a game-high 36 points from Grayson Rigdon.
SAN ANTONIO — In terms of style and experience, you’d be hard-pressed to find a wider variance than the Big Country’s two representatives — Jayton and Benjamin — at this year’s UIL Boys Basketball State Championships.
But while their approaches are radically different, the success rate of each is nearly the same.
For Jayton, the big stage is nothing new. The defensive-minded, balanced-scoring Jaybirds, who qualified for their eighth regional in nine seasons this year, are now making their third appearance at state since 2019. For coach Ryan Bleiker, this is his fourth trip to a state semi, having also guided Rule there in 2008.
TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned Consolidated Independent School District is facing the reality that as early as the 2024-25 realignment period that its lone high school could move up to Class 4A due to the booming growth that the community is experiencing.
Because of that, JNCISD made the decision to split the head football coach and athletic director duties into separate roles.
Monday night, Indians offensive coordinator Dustin Todd was named the district’s new AD and given a two-year contract during a regularly scheduled school board meeting.
Softball tournaments can distort the significance of pitching accomplishments due to inning caps or time limits, rendering perfect games or no-hitters into half-versions of their true selves.
However, there is no denying that tournaments are work, especially for pitchers, and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Hamlin southpaw Zoe Moore, earned the accolade with a 4-0 record in the Wichita Falls Sunrise Optimist Tournament last week.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Childress boys basketball region championship (92 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Region I-1A Tournament, Jayton vs. Lorenzo and Happy (78 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Benjamin-Garden City basketball region championship (64 images)”
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
LEVELLAND — With Lorenzo breathing down their necks for 32 straight minutes, the Jayton Jaybirds turned to an old friend to punch their ticket to San Antonio in Saturday’s Region I-1A championship game.
Defense, both timely and consistent, remained in the Jaybirds’ corner, lifting them to a 56-47 win at South Plains College.
Nathaniel Williams scored a game-high 26 points while Sean Stanaland and Griff Reel added seven apiece to lead Jayton (37-2) which will face Tilden McMullen County (37-2) at 10 a.m. on Thursday in the Class 1A State Semifinals in the Alamodome. The winner will face either Benjamin (21-1) or Graford (35-3) in Saturday’s state championship game at 8:30 a.m.